Premier League Predictions and Odds – Expert EPL Picks For May 16-18

Get Top EPL Predictions for May 16-18

WagerTalk EPL handicapper Kevin Dolan presents his soccer predictions heading into Premier League May 16-18 scheduled matches. He gives betting previews for key matches including Chelsea vs Manchester United, Arsenal vs Newcastle and more.

Which Premier League teams is he looking to pick up points and which will have goals being scored? Read his betting preview now!

Chelsea vs Manchester United | May 16 | 3:15 PM ET

Chelsea -275 | Manchester United +685 | Draw +435

Manchester United will take on Chelsea on Friday evening after both teams booked their place in respective European finals last week.

For United, it’ll be an all-English affair as they prepare to face Tottenham in the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21st, while for Chelsea, they will take on Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland just a few days later on May 28th.

With only two games remaining on the season, Chelsea are still in the thick of potentially locking in a Champions League spot for next season, despite their setback against Newcastle last week. The Blues will know a clear victory against Manchester United on Friday would go a long way in achieving that.

For Manchester United, especially with a shorter turnaround before their big European clash, it seems all eggs are in the Europa League basket for manager Ruben Amorim, as he has stated that he’s been fairly “embarrassed” by United’s form in the Premier League this season.

Travelling down to London hasn’t been easy for Manchester United across recent seasons either, as they own a miserable W3, D5, and L14 record in league action in the English capital, something that the books expect to be extended on Friday.

Chelsea have been one of the league’s better teams inside the first-half this season, especially at home, where they rank top-six in both points accumulated and clean sheet percentage also.

Expect that trend to continue on Friday.

Premier League Predictions: 1H Chelsea -0.5 (-120)

Brentford vs Fulham | May 18 | 10:00 AM ET

Brentford -110 | Fulham +265 | Draw +295

With six losses from their last eight games overall, Fulham seem to be closing out the season on rather a sombre note, although the Cottagers have always been able to spring a surprise or two in the league when least expected, as they showed by beating champions Liverpool last month.

London rivals Brentford, meanwhile, have been on a fantastic tear of late, reeling off four straight league wins on the bounce, with two excellent draws against both Arsenal and Chelsea coming immediately prior to that.

In fact, no team in the league has a better record than Brentford since April 16th, with the Bees’ average scoring frequency of 2.75 goals per game being largely key to that success.

However, while Fulham rank amongst some of the bottom teams in the league across that timeframe, their data really hasn’t been all that bad, with the Cottagers ranking top-three in defensive xGA over that period.

An even better statistic for Fulham ahead of this one is how effective they’ve been away from home this season, ranking joint-5th in goals allowed, as well as joint-5th in goals allowed from open play and set-pieces also.

Brentford, meanwhile, have been slow-starters at home this season, generating a W7, D9, L2 record inside the opening 45 minutes at the Community Stadium, with their defense being primarily to blame for that issue.

The Bees have allowed 13 goals inside the first half at home this season, which is well inside the bottom half in the league overall in terms of defensive efficiency.

With Fulham at least partially covering this line in both of their last two visits to the Community Stadium, we’re banking on another slow start for the Bees in this one.

Premier League Predictions: 1H Fulham +0.25 (-120)

Arsenal vs Newcastle | May 18 | 11:30 AM ET

Arsenal -105 | Newcastle +280 | Draw +265

Top-three clash in the late game for Sunday as Newcastle head south to take on Arsenal in North London.

Newcastle certainly won’t be intimidated by the long trip south, beating Arsenal in four of their last five head-to-heads against them, including winning all of the last three also.

It’s fair to say that this game hasn’t come at the best time for Arsenal either, with the Gunners going winless now in five straight games, as well as allowing multiple goals to opponents across all of their last three also.

That is pretty much the opposite of this Newcastle team, who come into this one keeping clean sheets in each of their last three wins.

In terms of data, Newcastle have been the best team in the league since March 1st in expected points, while Arsenal have continued to get weaker as the season has worn on, ranking 7th in expected points since April 1st.

With Newcastle’s better overall form heading into this one, their solid head-to-head record against Arsenal, plus the fact that this game is more meaningful to them from a points perspective, we’ll happily roll with the Magpies early in this one to cover the number on Sunday.

EPL Prediction: 1H Newcastle +0.25 (-125)

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